That's a very bold prediction you're making here, Vader. What makes you think that suddenly Mercedes will be a front-running team, considering how little rules are changing and will change in the near future? Teams will build the 2013 cars based of the 2012 machinery they have. Only in 2014 you can safely say the pecking order will go wild.

Imo Nico Rosbergo will beat Lewis on his first season. On qualy and on the race it will be very close between them, but... in terms of being more regular. That will depend if the car is well ballanced (a good car) then Nico maybe will beat him. If the car is not as good to drive then I´ll bet on Lewis. And I think Mercedes is going to be a "top car" in 2013.

Of course that´s a feeling, I admire both drivers and Mercedes they are lucky to have them. It will be an amazing battle!!!

That's a very bold prediction you're making here, Vader. What makes you think that suddenly Mercedes will be a front-running team, considering how little rules are changing and will change in the near future? Teams will build the 2013 cars based of the 2012 machinery they have. Only in 2014 you can safely say the pecking order will go wild.

2010:1.) Red Bull2.) Mclaren3.) Ferrari4.) Mercedes5.) Renault

2010:1.) Red Bull2.) Mclaren3.) Ferrari4.) Mercedes5.) Renault

2010:1.) Red Bull2.) Mclaren3.) Ferrari4.) Lotus5.) Mercedes

Do you see the consistency, Darth?

I'll put it another way... Merc have had 3 podiums this year??? Ask yourself how many more Lewis would get if he was driving that car.. I don't know how many?? But it would be MORE....

I'm not saying Merc will be @ the front next year.. But Lewis will put that car higher up the grid than it should be..Think Silverstone 10'... That car was a Dog.. Where was he on the grid.. & where was Jenson..;)

I'm not saying Merc will be @ the front next year.. But Lewis will put that car higher up the grid than it should be..Think Silverstone 10'... That car was a Dog.. Where was he on the grid.. & where was Jenson..

Interesting you'd mention Silverstone 2010 actually. If the car was such a dog, then why did Jenson finish fourth? Also, Rosberg finished 3rd, ahead of Jenson with an inferior Mercedes, in which Schumi only finished 9th or 10th I believe. Just trying to bring the point across.

I expect pretty much same results next year, just sub schumis name for hami.
ie: nico to be the quicker in qually and hami in races, but hami to have more incidents trying to get a bag of shit merc up the grid and his all out attacking style like schumi, while nico is happy to cruise round and only become feisty when near his teammate on track and in doing so collects more points and less penalties/

Interesting you'd mention Silverstone 2010 actually. If the car was such a dog, then why did Jenson finish fourth? Also, Rosberg finished 3rd, ahead of Jenson with an inferior Mercedes, in which Schumi only finished 9th or 10th I believe. Just trying to bring the point across.

Sure Jenson finished 4th... But he he didn't even make Q3!!! Just kept complaining how bad the car was, yet Lewis was 3rd on the grid!!! Take Spain this year... Lewis put it on POLE!!! Again, Jenson couldn't even get into Q3... Please try to tell me that Nico is better than Jenson...

I can't see Rosberg and Hamilton making a driver combo. Rosberg is very obsessed with beating Schumacher and is always very defensive when it doesn't happen. With Hamilton been a modern day benchmark Rosberg will know that this is make or break for his career. If he starts to fall behind Hamilton then a gap of 1-2 tenths could turn into 5-6 as his confidence is eroded.

I recall how Rosberg staked up against Webber in 6 years ago when they were teammates at Williams. I see that Mark scored 7 points in 2006 against Nico's 4 when they drove together at Williams. Not a delusional difference, but Webber did end up coming out on top. However, 3 points must be noted:

1.) Rosberg was only 20 years old and in his rookie season.2.) Williams in general was a crappy car.3.) Cosworth was very unreliable.

Sure Jenson finished 4th... But he he didn't even make Q3!!! Just kept complaining how bad the car was, yet Lewis was 3rd on the grid!!! Take Spain this year... Lewis put it on POLE!!! Again, Jenson couldn't even get into Q3... Please try to tell me that Nico is better than Jenson...

Proof will be in the Qualifying pudding in Melbourne next year!!!

Uh, I think your question has been answered. It's Button. His habit is to complain about how undrivable his car is, and frankly, Lewis dominating Jenson during his slump from Bahrain to Silverstone this season has been nothing special.

Most people here will be surprised on how well Rosberg goes against Hamilton, I'm not necessary saying Nico will beat Lewis, but rather that he'll give him a very hard time.

I think Hamilton will appear to be faster than Rosberg at times but overall the pair will be about an even match, with Rosberg getting the job done more reliably but Hamilton getting more race wins. Really, Rosberg is the perfect teammate for Hamilton (in terms of being apolitical and easy for him to get along with) and the pair great for MGP.

I think Hamilton will appear to be faster than Rosberg at times but overall the pair will be about an even match, with Rosberg getting the job done more reliably but Hamilton getting more race wins. Really, Rosberg is the perfect teammate for Hamilton (in terms of being apolitical and easy for him to get along with) and the pair great for MGP.

Judging from what I've seen so far, this thread will be populated with genuine Rosberg supporters (including myself, but they seem rather scarce), along with MS supporters (who will hope Nico beats Hamilton to show that MS was under appreciated in his comeback), plus those who dislike Hamilton all rooting for Nico to prove his worth against Hamilton... Certainly, there will be much more animosity than in Mercedes garage- I have a feeling those two will get along quite nicely, and will hopefully be pulling in the same direction- forward.

I consider Rosberg as a faster driver than Button. I personnaly rate him very high. The comparaison against one of the very best will be interesting

i just remember a few months ago, hamilton said in an interview that he considered there were 4 top drivers in F1 (him, alonso, vettel and....Rosberg)

Totally agree with this. I think Nico is a better qualifier than Button, his race pace is as good and he doesn't seem to have as much set up issues as Button so overall slightly better driver. As for the top drivers; I would say the usual top 3. Nico and Kimi slightly behind those, then Button slightly behind them.

I just went over the Q2 sessions of 2009 between Rosberg and his team mate Nakajima and averaged the gap.

Rosberg was on average only 0.296 faster. Considering Nakajima was a sub standard pay driver, that is very unimpressive, and is about the gap between Hamilton and Button, which puts things into perspective, and indicates he really is not that fast, and Hamilton will outpace him comfortably.

I also think Rosberg is a better driver overall than Button. He looks pretty quick in qualify. It will be great to see those two race each other. I'm confident Lewis will win the battle at the end. He might struggle a bit at the start of the season though.

I just went over the Q2 sessions of 2009 between Rosberg and his team mate Nakajima and averaged the gap.

Rosberg was on average only 0.296 faster. Considering Nakajima was a sub standard pay driver, that is very unimpressive, and is about the gap between Hamilton and Button, which puts things into perspective, and indicates he really is not that fast, and Hamilton will outpace him comfortably.

Err, obviously Rosberg will have grown as a driver since 2008-09. You also forgot to mention that in 09 he scored 35 points against Nakajima's null.

I still believe Nico will fare better against Lewis than most people suspect he will.

Err, obviously Rosberg will have grown as a driver since 2008-09. You also forgot to mention that in 09 he scored 35 points against Nakajima's null.

I still believe Nico will fare better against Lewis than most people suspect he will.

Grown? Maybe, but faster? Don't think so, and it's speculation at best, I was just pointing out what we actually know, that he was only 0.3 faster over a lap than a poor pay driver who is no longer in the sport.

Judging from what I've seen so far, this thread will be populated with genuine Rosberg supporters (including myself, but they seem rather scarce), along with MS supporters (who will hope Nico beats Hamilton to show that MS was under appreciated in his comeback), plus those who dislike Hamilton all rooting for Nico to prove his worth against Hamilton... Certainly, there will be much more animosity than in Mercedes garage- I have a feeling those two will get along quite nicely, and will hopefully be pulling in the same direction- forward.

Well i am a Webber supporter so here's my impartial 2c.

I was one of the minority in picking Rosberg to beat the Schu on his return, I just felt it was asking too much of michael. In saying that, despite what the scoreboard says, Michael has been way too close to Nico this year if Nico is to be regarded as a threat to someone like Hamilton. I think Lewis will have a similar margin to Nico as he has to Jenson this year.

I just went over the Q2 sessions of 2009 between Rosberg and his team mate Nakajima and averaged the gap.

Rosberg was on average only 0.296 faster. Considering Nakajima was a sub standard pay driver, that is very unimpressive, and is about the gap between Hamilton and Button, which puts things into perspective, and indicates he really is not that fast, and Hamilton will outpace him comfortably.

If you went only over Q2 sessions then you probably missed some races... because Nakajima didn't made through Q2 in 4 races and Nico in only 1. Your average gap is something smaller than it really was.

I was one of the minority in picking Rosberg to beat the Schu on his return, I just felt it was asking too much of michael. In saying that, despite what the scoreboard says, Michael has been way too close to Nico this year if Nico is to be regarded as a threat to someone like Hamilton. I think Lewis will have a similar margin to Nico as he has to Jenson this year.

Do you think Lewis will score many more WDC points than Nico? Will that be as close as it has been with Jenson?